Friday, August 14, 2015

Psychology and Religion Study Group

The C. G. Jung Society of St. Louis organizes various study groups on topics related to Jungian Psychology. I usually lead a study group on some Jung lecture or text. This fall the text is Jung's Psychology and Religion, the Terry Lecture Jung presented at Yale in 1937. Here are the particulars:

Test: C. G. Jung, Psychology and Religion, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1938. [This lecture, “Psychology and Religion,” is also included in Volume 11 of Jung’s Collected Works.]

In this work Jung discusses “what psychology has to do with or to say about religion.” Regardless of one’s religious affiliation or personal belief system, there is considerable evidence that within the psyche there is something like a religious function that has psychological implications in one’s life. In this study group, we will read and discuss Jung’s views in an effort to discern how his psychological approach might inform our own lives in a modern world increasingingly torn apart by religion.

(For people who are interested in the group but feel they lack a familiarity with basic Jungian theory, we recommend reviewing two videos: Rose Holt: "An Overview of Jungian Psychology & Its Value for Today", and Ken James: "Complexes, Archetypes, and the Transcendent Function." Both are available through the C. G. Jung Society of St. Louis website (www.cgjungstl.org) or by calling (314) 533-6809.) If you have questions or would like to discuss the course before registering, please contact Rose at (314) 726-2032 or roseholt@aol.com.

[Rose Holt is a Jungian analyst in private practice in St. Louis. She serves as advisory analyst to the C.G. Jung Society of St. Louis and is on the faculty of the Chicago Analyst Training Program. She has taught numerous courses and has authored numerous essays on topics in Jungian Psychology.]